'Fingers crossed and prayers': Colorado wildfire kills couple, forces more evacuations

FILE PHOTO: Smoke fills the sky as the East Troublesome Fire burns outside Granby, Colorado, U.S. October 22, 2020. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (Reuters) - Residents remaining in Estes Park, in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, were told to evacuate their homes on Saturday as wind gusts fanned the second largest wildfire in state history and the blaze claimed the lives of an elderly couple.

Officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for eastern Estes Park as wind gusts pushed the 191,000-acre (77,300-hectare) East Troublesome Fire east, threatening the town of 6,300 people that serves as a base camp for the popular national park.